Since the 1980s, Windows applications have been continuously evolving, with a technological disruption every 20 years. The first native applications have now made way for published or stremmed applications, with Citrix’s arrival on the scene in the 2000s as well as Virtual Desktop infrastructure (VDI).
By 2017, the new generation of streamed applications, including DaaS, was born. The emblematic provider was Amazon, with its AppStream V2 service. Positioned among its competitors was Citrix, with its Horizon offer.
Starting out with small businesses and SMEs, this type of offer largely attracts large organizations, particularly in the banking, health, and online education sectors. The market has strong potential, according to Gartner’s findings:
“The worldwide public cloud services market is forecast to grow 6.3% in 2020 to total $257.9 billion […]. DaaS is expected to have the most significant growth, increasing 95.4% to $1.2 billion.” Gartner, Inc.
There are three deployment types, which can be set up in accordance with the needs, selection criteria, and circumstances in your enterprise:
Added to these are three quality control models:
Historically, applications were installed on Windows client workstations. Eventually, since the Citrix years, people now have been able to choose between thick client and thin client. The DaaS revolution thus brings a 100% web rationale.
How does it work? The session is managed remotely via a gateway (streaming gateway or VDI gateway, depending on the technology). It is in the VDI provider’s infrastructure that the applications of the enterprise or customer are published.
First of all, it is important to note that Real-User Monitoring (RUM) is not the right solution to measure the performance of applications provided with VDI and DaaS. RUM is, in fact, a technology for the world of the web based on JavaScript code. It is therefore unable to efficiently measure Windows infrastructures.
Now let’s compare 4 types of APM solution:
Vendor APM, Server APM, and Network APM bring you a technical view of measurement, including analysis of client-side or server-side traffic, components and network latency, and all instances on the DaaS.
When the application is on the DaaS, Server APM cannot be used because there is no access to the provider’s servers.
Only the robot can supply precise user experience metrics. The robot provides indicators about page loading, clicks, and executions and interactions. These are real indicators from the end-user point of view.
These different APM solutions work together. The portion of the audience measured is an important factor. Vendor APM, Network APM and Server APM measure 100% of the audience, 100% of instances and 100% of sessions.
As for the robot, it confines itself to key user journeys (without any limit on scenario executions), aiming for a ‘lifelike’ approach.
The strength of Server APM is its full stack analysis which offers a complete, rich view if the results are skillfully interpreted.
Lastly, the robot is very appropriate for its client view for video and replay. It can highlight what’s wrong, but it needs to be paired with an internal solution to gain access to root causes.
The 6 main needs to consider in choosing a Windows monitoring solution:
Here is an example, using Ekara Studio in our Robot APM solution.
Watch a video about how to create a user journey in 6 steps:
To watch the entire webinar, click here.
Server APM and Network APM solutions are meant to be used by people with IT specialist profiles. Only Robot APM is easily accessible to business profiles. The choice must be made in line with the enterprise’s objectives and needs, but should also take into consideration the intended audience of your APM solution.
Moreover, with the DevOps revolution, APM is no longer all by itself! Solutions must additionally provide for: